SB 1540 (Hancock):Introduced by State Senator – California Senate District 09: Introduced by Assembly Member Loni Hancock. This bill will now requires the California State Board of Education to consider the adoption of a revised the history-social science framework. Senator Hancock has spent nearly four decades as a forceful advocate for open government, educational reform, environmental protection, economic development, and social justice. UNITED SIKHS thanks Senator Hancock and her staff and also all indivduals, organizations and especially Dr Onkar Singh Bindra, the pioneer behind the bill

Sacramento, California: UNITED SIKHS thanks everyone who supported in signing the UNITED SIKHS petition, all organizations and individuals in California who helped pass the SB 1540. A special thanks goes to Dr Onkar Singh Bindra who has been the pioneer behind SB 1540. We also thank the organizations and the individuals who have done collective effort in the passing of the AB 1964. These are victories that belong to the community and show that justice is delivered through the statutes designed to protect the civil rights of all individuals and to prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, disability.

Mohini Kaur said, “The Wisconsin tragedy has shocked the community. Unfortunately it required a tragic event this big to force the legislative assembly to move quickly and listen to the woes of the Sikh community. We welcome the changes but do it with a heavy understanding as to the price, the community has paid and remember the one’s who died.” Miss Kaur is the only Sikh who served on the History Curriculum Adoption Committee and is the community outreach coordinaor in Central Valley for UNITED SIKHS.

Harpreet Singh, Legislative Director UNITED SIKHS, said, “We thank Governor Brown who has listened to the voice of the community and agreed to bring in changes. We also urge Governor Brown to look at issues inclusive of domestic terrorism, census and issues related to hate crime within California. These bills are small step paving the way for bigger positive changes for the community.”

Dr. Onkar Singh Bindra, the pioneer behind SB 1540 (Hancock). He has been a watchdog to monitor information about Sikhism in the school textbooks of California. The change he has brought in school textbooks is just another example prompted by concerns about giving offense to any racial, ethnic or religious groups. He is a Retired Professor of Entomology & Project Manager of FAO(UNO)

S. Ram Singh, President of American Gurdwara Council, said, “We are thank-ful to Governor Brown for passing these bills. But the community should understand that these bills are a very tiny step towards the inclusion of the Sikh Identity. For example, this will not include all our Kakkars to be included as a part of our Identity but will pave the way forward and should be continued.”

UNITED SIKHS also asks all Sikhs to practice their faith fearlessly and report any racially biased incidents to them. If you feel you have been a target of a bias based crime/ incident, please report it here

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